Eighteenth-Century Escape Tales (el. knyga) (skaityta knyga) | knygos.lt

Aprašymas

Eighteenth-century Europeans were avid readers of prison escape tales, because in such works a version of heroism, defined solely via the individual s confrontation with political, economic, religious, and social power, prevails. Escape tales are one literary trick, among others, in the arsenal of early modern authors. Such episodes were entertaining and suspenseful, resurrecting exciting narratives that would have been otherwise stuck at the bottom of a prison cell. Homer provides one of the earliest versions of heroism in his epic poetry, which will inspire escape tale authors, novelists and biographers alike. The reinvented eighteenth-century hero is a victor, who represents the individual s triumph versus the state, sometimes unlike the actual prison escapee. The escape is not only an adventure but a transformative experience, not unlike the metamorphosis that Odysseus undergoes during his unduly prolonged journey. Escape tales are fundamental manifestations of the interconnection between different literary genres and historical events and how they mold cultural identity. Regardless of the form the narrative takes, the prison escape is a reflection of the tension between the individual s potential happiness via freedom and independence and the confines of the social order. Contemporary readers identified with the prisoner, who, like them suffered the injustices of an absolutist regime. The state imprisons such political and social renegades not just out of a desire to protect the public but more importantly to protect the state itself. Hence, eighteenth-century prison escape tales can be linked with a revolutionary tendency: when free, such former detainees equipped with a pen openly and justly challenge the status quo, hoping to inspire their readers to do the same. After the Revolution and with the birth of the modern nation-state, a shift occurs: individualistic acts against legitimate power are perceived as a threat to the common good, a danger to the community that the state represents. Readers moral judgment of prison escapees also reflects their assessment of the state itself. Escape tales have had a considerable impact on cultural identity, because they embody the interdependent relationship between literature and myth on the one hand and history on the other."